Thursday, August 11, 2005

Kitchen Closure??

I never want to hear those words. Kitchens should always be open, hospital or otherwise.

In the Shropshire Star this week we read of plans (denied) to close a kitchen for part of the day at Shrewsbury or PRH:

Hospital managers are looking at the idea of an afternoon kitchen closure at either the Royal Shrewsbury or Telford's Princess Royal. But it was denied that one of the two kitchens would be completely closed in a bid to save cash.

Graham Smith, interim chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust, said: "We are looking to save money where we can and we are looking to see if we can find a way of one kitchen producing the hot meals for the evening.

"It is not the same as completely closing a kitchen at the PRH or RSH."

Mr Smith said he didn't know at this stage what savings might be made, how many staff might be affected or the cost of transporting meals between the two centres.

But the proposal was attacked by Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard who is continuing his campaign for improved Government funding for the Princess Royal.

Of course he is....and you can bet your bottom dollar if his lot were in charge he'd be claiming the Hospital hasn’t kept their finances in check.

Does Mark Pritchard really care about the Hospital or is this much needed point scoring material for when this career politician goes back to the House?

3 Comments:

transporting food between hospitals is a health risk. what would happen in the event of the veheicle breaking down between hospitals who would suffer yes the patient. the food would then be warmed up in a microwave possibly causeing food poisoning. if they want to save money try reducing management salarys from £50,or £60,000 per year to a more reasonable figure

I don't disagree with you Anonymous, the point I was trying to make even then was Pritchard doesn't really give a toss about the Hospital or his constituents. At every opportunity Pritchard has sought to play the blame game rather than trying to resolve the current crisis.

He is a see through career politician who will be around in Shropshire just as long as it takes to move closer to Tory HQ.

The food issue was simply an idea thrown into the (ahem) melting pot about ways to save money. Most exec salaries have been reduced dramatically. Alas the hospital is still woefully in debt.